Sea Salt in CP

[CBE]

I've read about the salt bars, I've even tried one, and I love them. I haven't attempted to make a batch though. I'm going out on a limb here...lol... but my mind is always rolling... So I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to add Sea Salt to their soap at trace? I bought this bar one time from a very popular and reputable soaping company, and it was called a Sea Salt Bar. It was not like a salt bar. It looked like the salt was added at trace, with medium sea salts sprinkled on tops of the bar. It was a very cool looking bar. I'm a big believer in sea salt. It heals wounds, acne, and draws toxins out of the skin. It can be drying to some people though. When I was younger, and our family would go to the beach, if we had any "boo-boo's"... our mom made us go play in the water. By the next day... our boo-boo's were healed! Helped with acne as we got in our teenage years.

I would love to experiment and make something like this... has anyone added sea salt to their soap at trace?

[Meridith]

Whenever I make salt bars, I always add my salt, regardless of the salt I am using, at trace. I don't know what difference that makes if any at all. You can use most salts except dead sea salt. For some reason (something to do with the properties of DSS), you can not use DSS though. I've used Mediterranean sea salt with no problem.

[doris]

I've done one batch of salt bars and used sea salt. Meredith mentioned not to use dead sea salt, and I've heard that as well, and I've also heard not to use epsom salt.

[ChrisR]

If you are making a salt bar you can't use DSS, but in just a regular CP recipe, you can. I use 3 TBS. of DSS melted in part of my liquid and add it with the lye solution to every 3 lb. recipe. I don't like the scrubby feel of adding the salt at trace, but it should work ok..........give it a try and report back!!

[Meridith]

My salt bars aren't scrubbie at all and I add it at trace. I thought they would be but the the salt just glides across your skin. And if you use a fine enough salt, you can barely feel the salt.

[dirtybirdsoaps]

I agree with the smoothness of the salt bars. Mine arent rough at all, to me they actually feel like a beached stone (very smooth) after the first use but I have ALWAYS added my salt at light to med. trace

[CBE]

Ok... let's say, I'm doing a 3lb recipe. Can I add say... a cup of sea salt at trace, pour in mold... and NOT put it in the oven? Has someone ever done something like this? I like the idea of adding the sea salt to the liquid. So, I'm thinking if I try this, I add the sea salt to my water/liquid/etc, stir until dissolved, then add my lye? I just don't want to have some kind of disaster chemical reaction because of the salt. LOL

I think I will try both ways... adding the salt at trace, without putting it in the oven... AND a batch of using sea salt water.

[homespundeb]

I have never had to put my soap in the oven after adding salt - as a matter of fact, I just made another batch of my salt bars last night. I just add equal amounts of salt (sea salt) at trace as I have oils. (In other words, if I have 72 ounces oils, I add 72 ounces salt). I superfat pretty high on these, though. I grew up near the beach and always loved the way my skin felt after swimming - These feel so nice!

[Soapmaker Man]

I made my second batch last night using 75% CO, 15% Shea, and 10% SAO. I took a 8% lye discount. This time I used a few more ounces of oils and cut back on the amount of salt I added. Last time< I also, did 1:1 salt to oil. This time, I did 75% salt to oils, added just before trace, (thin trace) and whisked it in by hand for 3 or 4 minutes. I cut 55 minutes after pouring into my mold. Boy does it heat up. When I cut, the log was almost too hot to handle still, but cut much better than my first batch, which I waited for about 70 minutes to cut. That first batch was a little on the crumbly side, this batch, and new recipe, cut beautifully!

The family (my testers) love the batch I first made. All gave it a "thumbs up!"

Paul....

[Carrie]

I cut 55 minutes after pouring into my mold. Boy does it heat up. When I cut, the log was almost too hot to handle still, but cut much better than my first batch, which I waited for about 70 minutes to cut. That first batch was a little on the crumbly side, this batch, and new recipe, cut beautifully!

The family (my testers) love the batch I first made. All gave it a "thumbs up!"

Paul....

I read about having to cut early or you have to use a chisel so I've been using either Kelsei molds or Tony's molds. Both work great. The Tony's molds did stick just a but but I ran them under hot water for a few seconds and the soap just slid right out.

[AkainePSP]

What are the benefits of a salt bar?

[Carriegsxr6]

I made my second batch last night using 75% CO, 15% Shea, and 10% SAO. I took a 8% lye discount. This time I used a few more ounces of oils and cut back on the amount of salt I added. Last time< I also, did 1:1 salt to oil. This time, I did 75% salt to oils, added just before trace, (thin trace) and whisked it in by hand for 3 or 4 minutes. I cut 55 minutes after pouring into my mold. Boy does it heat up. When I cut, the log was almost too hot to handle still, but cut much better than my first batch, which I waited for about 70 minutes to cut. That first batch was a little on the crumbly side, this batch, and new recipe, cut beautifully!

The family (my testers) love the batch I first made. All gave it a "thumbs up!"

Paul....

So your basically just adding the salt at trace to a normal soap recipe? You just make the soap regularly with the proper amount of lye and water for the oils, then you add the salt at trace? I just want to be sure I am not adjusting the lye or water amounts for the amount of salt I add.

[Soapmaker Man]

So your basically just adding the salt at trace to a normal soap recipe? You just make the soap regularly with the proper amount of lye and water for the oils, then you add the salt at trace? I just want to be sure I am not adjusting the lye or water amounts for the amount of salt I add.[/quote

No, not a "regular" recipe at all, Carrie. Here is my recipe;

75% Coconut Oil

15% Shea Butter

10% Sweet Almond Oil

You need to adjust your recipe to include your salt or you'll have too much batter. First of all, run this recipe through a lye calc. I take a 8% lye discount. I add fo's at the rate of 1 full ounce PPO, since this gets so hot in the mold, some FO will burn off. I use the 80/80 rule. I figure my normal recipe uses, say, 32 ounces of oils, I take 32 ounces X's .80 or about 26 ounces. I figure the above percentages of my 3 oils (CO, Shea, &SAO) at 26 ounces total in the soap calc. I then take the 26 ounces X's .8o to use as salt, mixed in at light trace. I use 21 ounces of salt for this amount of oils. This fits my TOG Mold perfectally.

I do use aloe vera juice and silk in my salt bars too.

Here is a picture of my last batch, or a few bars anyway;

Hope this helps....:highfive:

Paul....